Write an essay on one of the topics below. It is due 10 April in class.
The essay should be 3-4 pages, double-spaced.

1. Criticize this assertion:

"Europe's left-right political divisions are
weakening: the British Labour Party governs like moderate Tories, Germany has a
grand coalition, and the Italian public is closely divided between Prodi and
Berlusconi. All of this
is because demographic challenges and globalization's impacts are forcing
European parties to adopt similar policies. Politics in Europe is becoming
centrist."

2. Criticize this assertion:

"Democracy in European states is under severe
strain. Voter turn-out and party membership are declining, and populist,
anti-establishment parties (e.g., the Northern League in Italy, the National
Front in France, and the Greens in Germany) are receiving greater support.
European politics will become more polarized and economic and political reforms
will become impossible to achieve."

Formatting Rules for Essays

Essays must be typed or machine-printed and stapled (no paper clips or folders).
Do not use colored paper. Keep a copy of your submitted essay. Use fonts no
smaller than 12 points. Use a serifed font, like Times New Roman
or Palatino
and not sans serif fonts, like Arial. (While sans serif fonts are easier to read
on monitors, they are harder to read, for me at least, on printed paper.)

Have separate title page with 1) your name 2) your team and essay # (e.g, Blue
#1) and 3) your student ID number printed on it.

Do not put your name or ID number on the pages of text (I grade "blind"). Text
should be double-spaced and have 1-inch margins. Number the pages of text.

Put the number or the first few words of the topic that you are writing on at
the start of the first page of text.